Bethlehem City, 6 and 7 BC
Mary lived for twelve years in the temple, in accordance with the teachings of her tribe. When the twelve years were up, the priests of the temple had a discussion.
‘Behold, Mary has completed twelve years in God’s temple. We need to know what to do with her, before she becomes a woman and defiles the sanctuary of our Lord,’ said the holy men to the high priest.
The high priest did not yet know what should be done. And so he began to pray to God to ask for guidance about Mary’s future.
At nightfall, when the temple was empty, he was the last to leave.
When he was locking the great wooden door, at the back of the temple, a wind came from behind him with such force that it lifted his robe and blew sand in his eyes. he rubbed them hard to clear them, and then he saw a bright light come from the sky. At once he fell to his knees and bowed his head as a sign of respect to the angel, which told him:
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‘Zacharias, go and call together all the widowers of the village.
let each one of them bring a stick. The one that receives a sign shall be the husband and guardian of Mary.’
Zacharias hardly had time to look up and give thanks for the angel’s message, when the light disappeared into the sky and faded into a star.
The next day Zacharias gave the angel’s message to the other priests, and they hurried to spread the word throughout the village, summoning the widowers. in no time the widowers assembled and went in search of the high priest. Zacharias took hold of the sticks they had brought and began to pray in the temple. At the end of his prayers he observed the sticks, but no sign appeared. He therefore decided to return them to their owners. But when he was handing back the last one, a shining white bird flew out, hovering over the head of the man whose stick it was. This man was Joseph. Then the priest cried out:
‘It is fated that you, my good man, shall take for yourself the virgin of the lord.’
‘i have children and i am old. she is only a girl. i do not think it is right and I do not want to become a figure of fun for our tribe,’
replied Joseph.
‘Fear the Lord, Joseph. You have been chosen to protect the virgin of God. You cannot deny our Father.’
Joseph was afraid that something might happen to his family if he disobeyed the orders of God, and took Mary under his protection, and said to her:
‘I have taken you from the temple of God. I will leave you in my house, in safety, and I will make a journey. Soon I will be back. The lord will keep you until my return.’
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May was now fifteen years old. one day she went to the well to draw water to drink and for cooking, and as she was pulling the bucket up, she heard a voice behind her.
‘Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!’
Mary let the bucket fall as she turned and tried to see whose the voice was. she became very frightened when she was there was no one nearby, although she had heard clearly what was said to her. Mary began to tremble with fear and rushed back towards the house. A little later, recovered from her fright, she decided to finish sewing one of the garments she was making for her husband. As she sat at the door of the house, she could see a tall man in bright robes heading towards her. Mary was confused.
‘Have no fear, Mary. I am here to bring you a message from our Lord. You will conceive and give birth to the son of God,’ announced the angel.
Mary could not believe what she was hearing.
‘Am I to conceive a son of almighty God and give birth, like other women?’
‘It will not be thus, Mary. You will be with child with the son of God without the need to conceive through carnal knowledge of a man.
You will remain untouched. The son of God will be born of you and you will call him Jesus, for he shall be the savior of his people.’
‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to your will.’
The angel slowly moved away. It skirted a tree, and a bright light was seen, and the angel disappeared as if it had never been there.
Mary ran to tell her news to her cousin Elizabeth. She knocked at 209
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her cousin’s door full of happiness. When isabel heard her knocking she left what she was doing and hurried to open the door. When she saw Mary she said:
‘Who am I to receive into my house the mother of the son of God?’
‘Elizabeth, how do you know of this?’
‘The angel Gabriel appeared to me and he told me. I too am expecting a child. It was a blessing from God. The angel Gabriel told me that my son’s calling on earth will be to help yours.’
As Joseph was still away on his travels, Mary decided to stay at her cousin’s house. Six months went by. Mary was now sixteen.
When she heard that her husband was returning, she also went home, at night, so that nobody of the village should see her now obvious belly. Some days later Joseph arrived, and when he went into the house he saw Mary, pregnant. He couldn’t believe it and threw himself to the ground, weeping bitterly at the disgrace of it.
‘And now, how shall I present myself before God? I took this virgin from the temple with the duty to protect her, and I have failed. What will happen to me? How could you do this, Mary? Did you perhaps forget our Lord God?’
‘Joseph, please, be calm. I am pure and have never known a man.’
‘Impossible. So where did this child you are carrying come from?’
‘By God, I do not know how it happened…’ Mary hadn’t finished speaking when Joseph rushed out.
Late that night, while Joseph was walking and thinking about what had happened, a bright light appeared over his head, and a voice spoke to him:
‘Joseph, be not afraid for your maiden, for she is carrying in her womb the son of God. Your mission will be to protect them and, 210
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when he is born, his name shall be Jesus. He will come to earth to save his people.’
Joseph was struck dumb. he fell to his knees while the light over his head was dimming.
Some months later, when he had confronted the ire of the priests of the temple, who thought that he had violated the Virgin Mary, the news came that the emperor was conducting a new census and that the people should return to their home towns to be counted.
Joseph and Mary set out. She rode on an ass with her husband on foot. in front of them went Joseph’s children. When they were only three miles from Bethlehem, Joseph saw Mary put a hand to her belly with a worried look. And Mary called out:
‘Joseph, help me get down, for the fruit of my womb is struggling to be born.’
They were on a desert road, and there was no place nearby for Mary to give birth. They hurried on and further ahead they could see a cave. Joseph carried Mary to the cave, told his children to look after her and hurried to the city to find a midwife. After some hours of searching, as he was passing close to a mountain, a woman who was coming down it shouted to him:
‘Where are you going in such a state, man?’
‘i am looking for a Jewish midwife.’
‘But you are from Israel?’
‘Yes i am.’
‘And who is giving birth?’
‘It’s my wife. She is Mary, who was brought up in the temple and conceived by the grace of the holy spirit.’
‘Is that the truth?’
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‘Come and see with your own eyes.’
Coincidence or not, the woman was a midwife. She had come down from the mountain where she had seen a bright light some minutes before. Joseph and the midwife walked swiftly towards the cave. Before they got there they could see a bright light shining over the place. once inside the cave they found Mary in labor. The light in the sky gave out another smaller light which went towards the cave and entered it. suddenly the beam of light grew bigger and almost blinded everyone there. When the light receded they could see the child being suckled by Mary.
The midwife exclaimed:
‘Blessed be this day above all the days of our time. I have seen a great miracle with my own eyes.’ The woman went out of the cave and began speaking to a friend who was just arriving: ‘Salome, Salome, I have to tell you of a marvelous thing never seen before in this world. A virgin has just given birth.’
‘My God, I cannot believe such a thing, I must touch her to believe,’ replied Salome.
The two of them went into the cave. One of salome’s hands was covered with burn scars. She asked if she could touch Mary, to confirm what the midwife had said. Mary said yes, and when she touched her she saw that her hymen had been broken only recently.
salome exclaimed:
‘Woe is me for my lack of faith, for not believing in the living God!
May I hold the son of God for a moment?’
Mary held out the child for Salome to hold. Trembling, Salome held it in her arms and, as she touched its face, her scarred hand began to itch. seeing salome in distress the midwife took the 212
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boy from her. Before the eyes of everyone there, the scars of the burn on salome’s hand began to disappear. They all broke down in tears. The first miracle of the son of God had been performed before their eyes.
‘Salome, tell no one what has happened here until we are safely back in Jerusalem,’ said Joseph.
A few days later, Mary and Joseph learnt that Herod had ordered all the boy children under two years old to be killed. The good man was terrified. He packed up their things, and put Mary and Jesus on the ass, and they fled to Jerusalem. During their flight a constant light could be seen following them, high above their heads. The angels of God were protecting them.
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